A MUDEFORD man has been correctly fitting new smoke alarms after those he had in his home to save his family from fire failed to operate.

The smoke detectors fitted in the Martin household in Viscount Drive had been tested at the weekend.

Three of the four were found to be in working order, said Richard Martin, 47 - but were in the corners of room and failed to detect a fire days later.

When plastic lunch boxes were left on the cooker on Wednesday night and a hob was left switched on, they gradually began to smoulder.

Engineer Mr Martin awoke at 6am on Thursday, could smell something but thought it was the barbecue outside which had been used to burn paper.

When son Alex came downstairs 30 minutes later to set off on his paper round he found the lower floor filled with dense smoke and raised the alarm.

Mr Martin, wife Karen, Highcliffe Comprehensive pupil Alex and sister, 10-year-old Mudeford Junior School pupil Zoe, escaped unharmed.

Graham Kewley, crew manager of Red Watch at Christchurch fire station, said: "We found that the whole of the ground floor was filled with smoke.

"It was a smoke issue, but it was only a matter of time before it would develop into a full flaming fire.

"There was a serious potential for loss of life."

Mr Martin said he had been told to fit the new smoke alarms in the centre of each room rather than in the corners where the old ones had been positioned.

He was also taking steps to ensure that the hob was not left switched on again by marking "off" positions on the controls with red dots.

Christchurch fire station sub-officer Stuart Granger said corners of rooms were sometimes "dead areas that could be bypassed by smoke" and fitting alarms to walls should be avoided.

The best place to fit alarms is in the centre of ceilings which is where smoke will normally reach first.

Dorset firefighters are currently running a Push the Button Not Your Luck smoke alarm campaign.

More information about smoke detectors are on the www.firekills.gov website

First published: Sept 27